Mezcal ‘Factory’ in Oaxaca Mexico

We had a really quick visit to a mezcal ‘factory’ in Oaxaca to learn more about this popular Mexican drink. Since mezcal cannot be mass produced and must be made via traditional processes, the ‘factories’ are usually situated in someone’s backyard. 8 to 10 year-old agave is cut so that only the heart of the plant remains. A number of these hearts are then place in a pit that is lined with rocks that have been pre-heated scorching red. The hearts are covered and roasted for a long time, and then removed from the pit and left to cool. Its this roasting that gives mezcal a smoky flavour. Eventually, the roasted plants are squashed with a huge circular rock which is rolled by a horse. The resulting liquid is then put in large barrels, distilled, and left to age. Bottles of young mezcal usually contain a worm (actually a lava from an agave plant). We taste tested a few mezcals of various ages and found the 8-year old to be of a much, much superior quality to the younger stuff.

For more photos from the mezcal factory, head to www.cloudpeopleadventures.com/?p=163